Mannikin with eyes and lashes



June 13, 1939. s MARCUS MANNIKIN WITH EYES AND LASHES Original Filed May 11, 1954 INVENTOR Samuel Marcus V ATTORNEYS Patented June 13, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MANNHKIN WITH Samuel Marcus, Belle EYES AND LASHES Harbor, N. Y., assignor,

b y mesne assignments, to Margon Corporatlon, Bayonne, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey 9 Claims.

This invention relates to mannikins, and more particularly to mannikins provided with eyes and lashes.

Mannikins are widely employed in store windows, millinery shops, and the like. The eyes are usually merely painted on the head, and if lashes are provided they are ordinarily clumsily visibly cemented on the outside of the head. The object of my invention is to generally improve mannikin heads by providing the same with eyes of realistic and natural appearance which willadd to rather than detract from the beauty of the head.

In one aspect, my invention resides in the provision of an improved eye member especially adapted for mounting in a mannikin head and preferably provided with long, flexible, luxuriant eye lashes so disposed as to closely hug the eye opening, and so formed and pressed as to naturally curve outwardly from the eye openings in a realistic and attractive manner.

Further objects of my invention center about an improved technique for making the eye members; for making and curling the special eye lashes therefor; for applying the lashes to the eyes in such manner as to accurately fit any de sired pattern of eye opening; and for mounting the eyes and lashes in the head. A further object of my invention is to provide appropriate 30 apparatus for use with the said method or technique, but the said apparatus and method are disclosed in my parent application Serial No. 725,183, filed May 11, 1934, (now Patent No. 2,111,150, dated March 15, 1938) of which the present application is a division.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and.

other objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the mannikin and mannikin eye elements and their relation one to the other, as are hereinafter more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by drawing in which:

Fig. 1 shows a mannikin head provided with eyes and lashes in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of an eye member embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same; 50 Fig. 4 shows the eye member mounted in the head; and

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the same.

Referring to the drawing, the mannikin head l2 differs from those usually employed, in being molded from a wood flour mixture instead of papier mach or plaster of Paris, neither of which substances is comparable with the Wood flour construction in durability. The head may be painted in the usual way, but is not provided with painted eyes. Instead, eye openings are punched through the head by appropriate punches having a cross-section like that of the desired eye opening. It should be understood that one eye opening may be and preferably is somewhat different in area and shape from the other, depending upon the effect and expression that the artist seeks to convey. One eye may be less widely open than the other, and may have aslightly different angle or droop. Inasmuch as only a limited quantity of each type of head is produced, it is important that the technique or procedure followed in providing the head with eyes be especially adapted to accommodate the variations desired by the artist for different heads. The manner in which this is accomplished will appear later in this specification.

The head I2 is provided with internally mounted eyes and lashes. A preferred form of eye member is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and comprises thin flexible sheet material l4, preferably white Celluloid, pressed to give the same a convexly curved. surface. This surface may desirably be a part of a sphere of predetermined radius. The area of the eye member is small relative to a complete sphere, for this economizes in material and affords some yieldability of the surface for self-adjustment in contact with the interior of the head. The eye member is preferably provided with outwardly projecting arms 16 which are most simply formed integrally with the eye member, and which may be nailed to the head by appropriate tacks or nails 18, best shown in Figs. 4 and 5. In the present case the arms I6 project upwardly and downwardly from the eye member and are necked or narrowed at 20 to increase the bendability of the arms relative to the eye member.

After eye openings have been punched through the head, these openings are preferably internally frazed. by a spherically surfaced frazing tool having a radius of curvature equal to that of the eye member. The head when molded is preferably provided on its inner wall adjacent the eye openings, with raised seats 24. The arms 16 are nailed to and bear against the seats '24, and the bendable relation between the arms and the eye member insures an accurate close fit of the eye member against the eye opening as the arms are drawn against the seats.

The eye member I4 is preferably provided with a lens 26 inserted therein and provided with appropriate iris and pupil simulating portions. The lens 26 may be inserted from behind the eye member so that its front surface is substantially flush with that of the eye member, the remainder of the lens being outwardly flanged, as is indicated at 28, to limit the outward movement of the.

lens. Because of the thickness of the lens it is possible to give an appearance of realistic depth to the eye. If desired, a part of the lens may be cut away at the top or/and bottom edges where such portions are anyway concealed by the eye lid or head, and in the present case I illustrate a lens which is cut away at the top edge 30, as is best shown in Fig. 5. It will be understood, however, that a full circular lens may be used.

The eye member is further provided with eye lashes 32, and in the present case with both upper and lower lashes. These lashes are preferably long, fine, and luxuriant. They may be attached to the eye member in various ways, but I find it most simple to cement the same directly to the exterior of the eye member. The lash strands are bound in a woven foundation 34 which is turned or folded outwardly and cemented to the eye member. The longitudinal strands of the foundation may be made of such fine silk as not to appreciably increase the thickness of the foundation, which may be quite narrow, say onesixteenth of an inch or less for lash strands having a length of one-half an inch or more. It will be noted that the lash strands are turned outwardly from; the eye member in a sharp fold or crease, and that they define an area corresponding in shape and size with the eye opening, so that the lashes closely hug the eye opening and therefore appear to project from the edges of the lids, as they should.

The manner in which the lash is made, curled and cemented to the eye, as well as the manner in which the eye is secured within the head, are all fully disclosed in my aforesaid parent application Serial No. 725,183. However, it may be briefly pointed out that the lash is woven as a continuous ribbon, appropriate sections or lengths of which are severed and curled by heated curling irons which bend the strands at a sharp angle with respect to the foundation. The lashes are cemented to the exterior of the eye member by means of a suitable cement, preferably one of the well-known solvents for Celluloid, the cement being confined to the lash foundation and prevented from reaching the eye opening. The location of the lash may be determined by suitable apparatus having guide plates or temlplets which in turn are made to conform to the shape of the eye opening of the particular type of head being manufactured. The completed eyes are mounted in the head, preferably by using a relatively long slender mounting tool adapted to pass through the neck opening of the head. The eye must be properly located at the eye opening during the -mounting operation, and the long outwardly curled lashes may thus be used as a guide. The eye and head are so relatively moved as to bring one lash through the eye opening, whereupon they are moved in opposite direction, even to the extent of bending the aforesaid lash, until the other lash comes through the eye opening. The parts are then adjusted until both the upper and lower lashes mate accurately with the upper and lower edges of the eye opening, whereupon the eye is secured to the head, as by use of the nails I8.

It is believed that my invention for the provision of eyes and lashes in mannikins, as well as the many advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description. The mannikin head is improved in realism because of the natural appearance and location of the eye, and the long, luxuriant, curled lashes provided therewith. The eyes may be constructed and rectly therefrom.

The eyes are preferably supported by arms formed integrally therewith and flexibly related thereto. The arms preferably extend upwardly and downwardly because this provides ample room for the eye supporting seats within the head and permits ready adjustment of the eye member about a vertical axis, so as to best seat itself at the horizontally elongated eye opening.

It will be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made therein, without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. An eye for a mannikin head such as is used in shop windows for display purposes, said eye comprising a horizontally elongated part of the surface of a sphere made of white sheet material and provided with small integrally formed upwardly and downwardly projecting attaching arms, each of said arms being sharply necked at the point of attachment to the eye in order to provide for movement of the eye relative to the arms to ensure close seating of the eye in the eye opening of the head.

2. An eye for a mannikin head such as is used in shop windows for display purposes, said eye comprising a horizontally elongated part of the surface of a sphere made of White sheet Celluloid and provided with small integrally formed outwardly projecting attaching arms, said arms being relatively flexible and twistable to insure close seating of the eye in the eye opening of the mannikin head, upper and lower eyelashes, the foundation of the upper lash being sharply bent upwardly and the foundation of the lower lash being sharply bent downwardly relative to the lash strands, said foundations being cemented flat on the spherical outer surface of the eye on Iinespatterned to conform to the shape of the particular eye opening in which the eye is to be used. I

3. An eye for a mannikin head such as is used in shop Windows for display purposes, said eye being made of white sheet Celluloid or the like provided with a lens and provided with small integrally formed outwardly projecting attaching arms, each of said arms, being sharply necked at the point of attachment to the eye in order to provide for movement of the eye relative to the arms to ensure good seating of the eye in the eye opening, upper and lower eyelashes, the foundation of the upper lash being sharply bent upwardly and the foundation of the lower lash being sharp y bent downwardly relative to the lash strands, said foundations being cemented to the outer surface of the eye above and below the lens on lines which are especially patterned to exactly conform to the shape of the particular eye opening in which the particular eye is to be used.

4-. An eye for amannikin head such as is used in shop windows for display purposes, said eye being made of white sheet material and provided with small integrally formed upwardly and downwardly projecting attaching arms, each of said arms being sharply necked at the point of attachment to the eye in order to provide for movement of the eye relative to the arms to ensure good seating of the eye in the eye opening of the head, a lens having black pupil and colored iris portions inserted in an opening in the eye and cemented in place, an upper eyelash, the foundation of said upper lash being sharply bent upwardly relative to the lash strands, said foundation being cemented to the outer surface of the eye above the lens on a line which is especially patterned to exactly conform to the shape of the top of the particular eye opening in which the particular eye is to be used.

5. A mannikin head for use in store windows or the like for display purposes, said head being molded of wood pulp or like material and being provided with a pair of horizontally elongated eye openings, the wall of the head being thickened for a small area directly above and below each eye opening in order to form mounting seats for eyes, and artificial eyes fixedly mounted directly on said seats in said eye openings, each eye comprising an eyeball portion formed of white sheet material and shaped to conform to the surface of a sphere, the eyeball portion being horizontally elongated and adequate in area to cover the eye opening, upwardly and downwardly extending arms formed integrally with said eyeball portion, said arms being nailed or otherwise secured to the aforesaid seats, the points of attachment of said arms to the eyeball portion being necked to afford yieldability and self-adjustability of the eyeball portion relative to the arms in order to ensure close seating of the eyeball portion against the eye opening.

6. A mannikin head for use in store windows or the like for display purposes, said head being molded of wood pulp or like material and being provided with a pair of horizontally elongated eye openings, the wall of the head being thickened for a small area at each eye opening in order to form mounting seats for eyes, and artificial eyes fixedly mounted directly on said seats in said eye openings, each eye comprising an eyeball portion formed of white sheet material and shaped to conform to the surface of a sphere, the eyeball portion being horizontally elongated and adequate in area to cover the eye opening, outwardly extending arms formed integrally with said eyeball portion, said arms being nailed or otherwise secured to the aforesaid seats, and upper and lower eyelashes, each comprising a foundation portion bent sharply relative to the strand portions, the foundation portions being cemented on the exterior of the eyeball on lines which conform accurately to the shape of the particular eye opening behind which the eye is mounted, said foundations coming between the eyeball and the head adjacent the eye opening, and the strands of said lashes projecting through the eye opening against the upper and lower edges thereof.

'7. A mannikin head for use in store windows or the like for display purposes, said head being molded of wood pulp or like material and being provided with a pair of horizontally elongated eye openings, the wall of the head being thickened for a small area directly above and below each eye opening in order to form mounting seats for eyes, and artificial eyes fixedly mounted directly on said seats in said eye openings, each eye comprising an eyeball portion formed of white sheet material and shaped to conform to the surface of a sphere, the eyeball portion being horizontally elongated and adequate in area to cover the eye opening, upwardly and downwardly extending arms formed integrally with said eyeball portion, said arms being nailed or otherwise secured to the aforesaid seats, a lens including black pupil and colored iris portions mounted in said eyeball portion and so located as to be at least partially visible through the eye opening of the head, and an upper eyelash comprising a foundation portion bent sharply relative to the strand portions, the foundation portion being cemented on the exterior of the eyeball on a line which conforms accurately to the shape of the top of the particular eye opening behind which the eye is mounted, said foundation coming between the eyeball and the head adjacent the eye opening, and the strands of said lash projecting through the eye opening against the upper edge thereof.

8. A mannikin head for use in store windows or the like for display purposes, said head being molded of wood pulp or like material and being provided with a pair of horizontally elongated eye openings, the wall of the head being thickened for a small area near each eye opening in order to form mounting seats for eyes, and artificial eyes fixedly mounted directly on said seats in said eye openings, each eye comprising an eyeball portion formed of sheet material and shaped to conform to the surface of a sphere, outwardly extending arms formed integrally with said eyeball portion, said arms being nailed or otherwise secured to the aforesaid seats, the points of attachment of said arms to the eyeball portion being necked to afford yieldability and self-adjustability of the eyeball portion relative to the arms in order to ensure close seating of the eyeball portion against the eye opening, and upper and lower eyelashes, each comprising a foundation portion bent sharply relative to the strand portions, the foundation portions being cemented on the exterior of the eyeball on lines which conform accurately to the shape of the particular eye opening behind which the eye ismounted, said foundations coming between the eyeball and the head adjacent the eye opening, and the strands of said lashes projecting through the eye opening against the upper and lower edges thereof.

9. A mannikin head for use in store windows or the like for display purposes, said head being molded of wood pulp or like material and being provided with a pair of horizontally elongated eye openings, the wall of the head being thickened for a small area directly above and below each eye opening in order to form mounting seats for eyes, and artificial eyes fixedly mounted directly on said seats in said eye openings, each eye comprising an eyeball portion formed of sheet material and shaped to conform to the surface of a sphere, upwardly and downwardly extending arms formed integrally with said eyeball portion, said arms being nailed or otherwise secured to the aforesaid seats, the points of attachment of said arms to the eyeball portion being necked to afiord yieldability and self-adjustability of the eyeball portion relative to the arms in order to ensure close seating of the eyeball portion against the eye opening, a lens including black pupil and colored iris portions mounted in said eyeball portion and so located as to be at least partially visible through the eye opening of the head, and an upper eyelash, compris- 10 ing a foundation portion bent sharply relative to the strands, the foundation portion being cemented on the exterior of the eyeball on a line which conforms accurately to the shape of the particular eye opening behind which the eye is mounted, said foundation coming between the eyeball and the head adjacent the eye opening, and the strands of said lash projecting through the eye opening against the upper edge thereof. 

